Murder suspect jailed in 1994 cold case

Troy Arrighi, left, 37, of Manhattan, was arrested on Febtruary 14, 2013 in connection with the death of mechanic Mario Andujarat, right, during an attempted robbery in West Babylon in 1994. Andujarat, a native of the Dominican Republic, came to the United States in 1974, working mostly as a truck driver and mechanic at Diamond Trucking Co.in West Babylon He was killed by two masked gunmen on March 22, 1994. Photo Credit: SCPD / Newsday file

Troy Arrighi, left, 37, of Manhattan, was arrested on Febtruary 14, 2013 in connection with the death of mechanic Mario Andujarat, right, during an attempted robbery in West Babylon in 1994. Andujarat, a native of the Dominican Republic, came to the United States in 1974, working mostly as a truck driver and mechanic at Diamond Trucking Co.in West Babylon He was killed by two masked gunmen on March 22, 1994. (Credit: SCPD / Newsday file)

The accused triggerman in a cold case dating to 1994 has been jailed without bail -- nearly 19 years after he allegedly murdered a mechanic he was robbing in West Babylon, according to the authorities.

The man, Troy Arrighi -- now 37 and living in Manhattan -- was arrested Feb. 14 by Suffolk County police. At court the next day, Judge Paul M. Hensley of First District Court in Central Islip...

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The accused triggerman in a cold case dating to 1994 has been jailed without bail -- nearly 19 years after he allegedly murdered a mechanic he was robbing in West Babylon, according to the authorities.

The man, Troy Arrighi -- now 37 and living in Manhattan -- was arrested Feb. 14 by Suffolk County police. At court the next day, Judge Paul M. Hensley of First District Court in Central Islip denied him bail.

Andujar and another mechanic, Juan Garcia, were working on a truck in a bay in back of the business when two men in black ski masks confronted them, police said in 1994.

The criminal complaint against Arrighi said he entered Diamond Trucking with a loaded .38 revolver and demanded money. Arrighi told investigators that he killed Andujar, shooting him twice in the chest, the complaint said. He is also charged with first-degree attempted robbery.

In a Newsday article about the shooting and attempted robbery, Garcia said he thought it was a joke when he saw the two masked men.

"I thought they were joking, so I said 'Yeah, right.' One of them said, 'You think I'm joking?' He shot me in the leg," said Garcia, who was washing a truck when he was shot in the right thigh.

Garcia said he was bleeding, lying in a chair, when the men shot Andujar, who died at the scene.

Mario Andujar, a native of the Dominican Republic, came to the United States in 1974, working mostly as a truck driver and mechanic at Diamond Trucking Co. in West Babylon. (March 22, 1994) Photo Credit: Handout

Andujar was married at the time of his death and had three daughters, ages 10, 5 and 2, the Newsday story said.

Arrighi had used the last names of Schwartz and Cortez, said Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. He also is known as "Red" for the color of his hair, Clifford said.

Under the Schwartz surname, Arrighi served nearly eight years in prison for burglary and attempted burglary, from June 2000 to March 2008, according to the New York State prison system. He also served more than two years, from September 2010 to November 2012, for auto stripping, records show.